Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, Wuthering Heights is finally here – and it’s dividing audiences and critics. Early reviews are split (The Independent gave it one star, while The Telegraph gave it five), and many have lambasted writer Emerald Fennell’s screenplay of Emily Brontë’s book. Others have praised its stylistic aesthetic, ‘bodice-ripping’ intensity and fresh take on the classic.
The source material has captured directors for more than a century, inspiring more than 30 adapations across TV, film and theatre. Published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, it was Brontë’s only novel before she died at the age of 30. Considered one of the greatest stories in English literature, its themes of love, possession and revenge challenged Victorian morality, while its unconventional structure was ahead of its time. The book was controversial upon its release, but Fennell’s adaptation is sparking a different kind of controversy.
